As a result of its September 2024 takeover of Noerr, Kinstellar bolstered its corporate and M&A offering both in expertise and client portfolio, bringing in experienced practitioners Rusandra Sandu and Luiza Bedros. Sandru has joined seasoned partner Zsuzsa Csiki in joint leadership of the practice group, both having experience across the gamut of matters; Csiki has overseen the vast majority of the practice’s work since 2009, and Sandru adds similar longevity and an expertise in regulatory law. Bedros’ addition broadens the practice’s scope in competition-related matters. Cristina Stamboli‘s strength in foreign investments, post-acquisition reorganisations, and greenfield projects, and Mădălina Perțe’s experience in cross-sectoral and multi-jurisdictional deals are all further boons to clients.
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Testimonials
Collated independently by Legal 500 research team.
- Expertise, flexibility, reliability, and availability. Everything you need during a transaction. The recent merger with the Noerr team also added internal financial expertise, which makes the process smooth and quick.
- What makes Kinstellar’s M&A practice unique is the combination of deep technical expertise, commercial acumen, and a highly client-centric approach. From the very beginning of our transaction, the team – led by Partner Csiki Zsuzsa – demonstrated a rare balance of legal precision and business-minded problem solving. Potential clients would appreciate that the team does not simply “flag risks,” but consistently focuses on finding realistic, actionable solutions that support deal progress. One of the greatest strengths of the practice is its responsiveness and clarity. At every stage of the transaction, the team communicated in a structured, transparent way, enabling us to make confident decisions quickly – even under significant time pressure. Their ability to turn around complex documents and negotiation points with both speed and high quality clearly differentiates them from many other firms we have worked with. The practice is also distinguished by its collaborative mindset. Rather than operating in silos, the team works closely with financial, tax, and operational advisors, ensuring that the legal workstream is always aligned with the broader transaction strategy. This integrated approach proved invaluable during negotiations and due diligence.
- Among all the individuals we worked with, Partner Csiki Zsuzsa stands out in a particularly exceptional way. What differentiates her from competitors is her ability to combine deep technical expertise with a remarkably pragmatic, business-oriented mindset. She understands not only the legal dimension of an M&A transaction but also its commercial drivers, strategic context, and the real-world implications for the client. This makes her guidance consistently actionable and aligned with our objectives. Zsuzsa’s communication style is another defining strength. She is clear, structured, and always several steps ahead, ensuring that we understood not only what the issues were, but also what our options and their consequences would be. Her ability to translate complex legal concepts into concise, decision-ready insights saved us significant time throughout the process. What we valued most was her calmness under pressure. Even during the most intense negotiation moments and tight deadlines, she remained composed, solution-driven, and exceptionally reliable. This steadiness and judgment played a key role in moving the deal forward and resolving sensitive points with the seller. Beyond her technical and strategic strengths, Zsuzsa is also highly empathetic and collaborative. She works seamlessly with financial advisors, management, and external stakeholders, ensuring that the legal stream supports—not slows—the overall deal workflow. Her leadership sets the tone for the entire team.
- Business orientation rather than strict legal scholars. Very good communication skills.
- Exceptional reliability; immense expertise with complex transactions and cross-border deal processing; exceptional connectivity to the international investment market in driving connections and investment opportunities; exceptional deal processing, efficiency, and proactivity.
- Zsuzsa Csiki is exceptionally knowledgeable, drives the team ahead, understands the intrinsic nature of complex business issues, and ensures that sophisticated input and discussions/negotiations are handled with creativity, smooth and strategic structuring of next steps, and efficient planning. I would like to reiterate my support for Zsuzsa and her team because we have a long-term continued relationship with her, and she deserves the highest recognition, which I hope we can relay through this survey. In addition, I have seen over the years how much effort, dedication, and care she invests in team management, client relationships, and in making sure that all matters we face are dealt with rigorously. She has become a reliable pillar for us, and she is driving market dynamics with a very busy deal schedule. I am very happy to be working alongside Zsuzsa and her team on a magnitude of matters. Thank you.
Key clients
- Advent International
- EMMA Capital
- Special Flanges
- Altebra
- Mpac Group
- Forterro Sweden
- Greenphire LLC / Thoma Bravo
- Strabag AG
- Ardian Capital
- Alchemy Insights
- EastGrain
- Agrotex
Lawyers
Leading partners
The strongest partners in their field, leading on market-leading deals and endorsed by peers and clients alike.
Leading associates
Leading associates with regular involvement in their team's key work, and recognition from peers or clients as being ones to watch.
Practice head
Zsuzsa Csiki; Rusandra Sandu
Other key lawyers
Luiza Bedros; Cristina Stamboli; Mădălina Perțe; Mihai Stan; Andrei Băluș